Matching Gift Auto-Submission + CSR Platforms

Corporate matching gift programs are one of the most substantial opportunities for nonprofits to leverage their relationships with individual donors and corporate partners alike. Historically, however, there have been some substantial roadblocks that keep eligible donors from taking part in the initiatives. And now, matching gift auto-submission is here to provide new and innovative solutions for even greater results.

In this guide, we’ll cover just about everything a nonprofit, donor, or corporation needs to know about auto-submission functionality and how it can bring matching gift success to the next level. This includes;

The Basics of Matching Gift Submissions
What You Should Know: Auto-Submission FAQ
Top CSR Platforms With (& Without) Matching Gift Auto-Submission
The Future of Matching Gift Auto-Submission
How to Begin Leveraging Auto-Submission with Double the Donation

A key component of many companies’ workplace giving offerings, matching gift programs enable donors to request matching donations for their personal contributions to eligible nonprofit causes. As a result, nonprofits see elevated funding through diversified revenue streams, companies reap the benefits of increasingly engaged team members along with improved brand reputation, and donors see their own gifts being stretched farther toward a mission they care about.

And the process typically kicks off with a matching gift request; which is where we’ll begin as well.

The Basics of Matching Gift Submissions

When a donor wants to secure a matching donation from their employer on behalf of an organization they personally contribute to, they’re traditionally required to complete a set submission process in order to formally request the match. Depending on whether the company manages its matching program in-house or outsources facilitation to a third-party vendor, an individual may be prompted to submit their request to the employer itself or directed toward an online corporate giving portal with which to complete the process.

From there, they’ll generally be asked to provide basic information regarding their personal gift, the organization they’ve given to, and more⁠—allowing the company to determine the legitimacy and eligibility of the initial donation.

Although the criteria can vary from company to company, these are some key components requested by employers during the matching gift submission process…

Regarding the receiving organization;

Nonprofit name
Mailing address (or city, state, country, zip code)
Tax ID number (EIN)
Mission type

Regarding the individual donor;

Name
Email address
Employee ID number

Regarding the initial donation;

Payment type
Donation amount
Gift currency
Date of payment
Copy of donation receipt

Once the matching company has this information (or whichever combination of data points it requested from employees), the team in charge of the program can review the request, perhaps verify the gift with the organization itself, and ultimately approve and disburse match funding.

However, the above-outlined process has long been a pain point for donors, nonprofits, and matching companies alike. When asked for too much information (not to mention time and effort), the individual donor is likely to give up on the process altogether. As a result, nonprofits are not receiving the match funding they qualify for, and companies are not reaping the maximum benefits of the matching programs they put in place.

Enter⁠—matching gift auto-submission.

We’ll walk through a detailed overview of auto-submission functionality below, but the basis of this innovative tool is this: matching gift auto-submission empowers donors to request their corporate matches directly from their favorite organizations’ confirmation pages. No more long, drawn-out, separate processes or requests for repetitive information⁠. Just immediate matching gift requests with the click of a single button and a form of user verification.

What You Should Know: Auto-Submission FAQ

Auto-submission is a fairly recent development in the matching gifts game, so it’s possible (and likely probable) that you have a few questions. We’ve gone ahead and answered some of the most common inquiries regarding the functionality.

What is auto-submission?

Matching gift auto-submission streamlines and simplifies the above-described process to enable more donors to get their gifts matched by their employers with ease. This new-and-improved experience better connects donors, nonprofits, employees, and corporations to ensure each party benefits from matching gifts to their fullest extent.

With auto-submission functionality, donors can request matching gifts from their employers directly within the donation confirmation screens of the organizations they support.

What are the benefits of matching gift auto-submission?

Matching gift auto-submission functionality offers substantial advantages for each party that benefits from matching gift programs in the first place. Specifically, this includes;

Companies ⁠— The companies that establish matching gift programs see elevated participation rates by employees who appreciate the streamlined request process with auto-submission. As a result, the companies reap benefits such as increased employee engagement levels, improved brand reputation, maximal corporate social responsibility, and more.

Nonprofits ⁠— When an organization’s donors submit matching gift requests, the organization itself receives bonus funding from the companies their supporters work for. With auto-submission, more donors complete the process to submit their requests, meaning more corporate funding for the nonprofits in question⁠—let alone elevated donor engagement.

Employees/Donors ⁠— Finally, employee donors benefit from a significantly streamlined process for involvement. Whereas individuals previously had to locate eligibility criteria, navigate to their employers’ online management portals, and provide a range of donor, donation, and nonprofit information for approval. Now, they don’t even have to leave the website of the organization they’ve supported, and the process can be completed in just a few seconds.

Why does auto-submission functionality matter?

Over $4 to $7 billion in available matching gift funding goes unclaimed every year, largely because qualifying donors do not complete the process to request matches from their employers on behalf of the organizations they support.

There are a few key reasons for this, which range from donors not knowing about the programs in general, to donors knowing about the programs but not knowing how to secure their matching funds, to donors knowing how but choosing not to complete the steps required to get their gifts matched. And auto-submission can help drive more matches in each case.

The easier it is for donors to participate, the more likely they are to do so⁠—meaning more match funding for qualifying organizations in the end. Not to mention, it also results in more positive donor experiences.

How does matching gift auto-submission work?

Auto-submission enables donors to complete their matching gift request processes directly within their nonprofit giving experiences. Previously, securing a match required a separate, sometimes lengthy procedure; now, it can be done in mere seconds with a single click.

When eligible donors are offered auto-submission functionality, all they generally need to do to participate is provide their corporate email address. Then the technology takes it from there! They don’t have to worry about researching program guidelines to determine their eligibility for matches, nor do they have to provide a ton of redundant information to complete the request.

Double the Donation partners with both the organizations’ online donation tools and the companies’ matching gift portals to process requests behind the scenes and minimize the steps required of the individual donor.

Who is eligible to participate in matching gift auto-submission?

Because auto-submission is still new when it comes to matching gift requests, not all donors are currently provided with access to the functionality. At this time, a few criteria need to be met in order for an auto-submission option to populate on a gift confirmation screen:

The individual donor must work for a company that uses a CSR management platform that integrates with Double the Donation (more on that below);
The organization receiving the donation must employ Double the Donation’s matching gift tools.

Luckily, many of the world’s largest fundraising organizations already utilize Double the Donation to maximize matching gifts, which makes them contenders for auto-submitted gifts by donors who also qualify for the programs.

And keep in mind that as auto-submission features continue to grow in availability in the near future, more and more individuals (and, by extension, nonprofits) will be able to benefit from it and get their gifts matched with a single click.

Top CSR Platforms With (& Without) Matching Gift Auto-Submission

Many companies utilize CSR (or corporate social responsibility) software to manage their workplace giving and other corporate philanthropy initiatives. It’s through these technology solutions, made possible by an integration with our very own 360MatchPro that matching gift auto-submission is available to employee donors. However, not all CSR platforms provide the option for individuals to partake in auto-submission.

Let’s take a look at some of the top corporate giving platforms⁠—and whether or not they enable auto-submission of matching gift requests;

Millie — Millie provides corporate giving technology to companies looking to drive their social impact through employee participation. This includes matching gifts, volunteer grants, charitable gift cards, and more. And they work to make it as easy as possible for team members to get involved⁠—hence, new auto-submission functionality. Now, employee donors can submit match requests by entering their corporate email addresses on nonprofit confirmation pages, then verifying via a quick email follow-up. Learn more about Millie’s auto-submission with Double the Donation here!
POINT — POINT is a volunteering app that aims to simplify nonprofit partnerships for the organizations, individual contributors, and businesses involved. The technology platform has expanded into corporate philanthropy program management, specifically with corporate volunteering, dollars for doers grants, matching gifts, and more. And particularly noteworthy, POINT’s matching gift software allows for streamlined auto-submission functionality through an easy technical integration with 360MatchPro.Learn more about POINT’s auto-submission with Double the Donation here!
Selflessly — Selflessly offers innovative and intuitive corporate giving software for businesses to amplify their social impact. And when it comes to matching employee gifts, they partner with Double the Donation to enable auto-submission. Employees who work for companies that use Selflessly can request their gift matches in seconds just by entering their corporate email address during a nonprofit giving experience. It’s quick and easy and ensures employee donors are more likely to complete their end of the matching gift process. Learn more about Selflessly’s auto-submission with Double the Donation here!

America’s Charities — America’s Charities is a popular nonprofit workplace giving platform that provides matching gifts, volunteering, and other employee engagement solutions. They work with businesses of all shapes and sizes and enable employers to make a positive impact on their communities. America’s Charities does not currently offer matching gift auto-submission functionality.
Benevity — Benevity describes itself as powering purpose-driven businesses and provides some of the largest brands with the tools they use to facilitate and manage their corporate philanthropy. Benevity prioritizes corporate purpose, employee and customer engagement, and community investment. Benevity does not currently offer matching gift auto-submission functionality.
Bright Funds — Bright Funds, a part of WizeHive, focuses on workplace philanthropy and its benefits to employees, companies, and nonprofits that partake in corporate partnerships. This provider offers innovative solutions for giving and matching, volunteering, grants management, and more. Bright Funds does not currently offer matching gift auto-submission functionality.
CyberGrants — CyberGrants is a popular provider in the corporate giving and philanthropy space. As a part of Bonterra, CyberGrants offers socially-minded businesses the opportunity to make an impact through employee matching gifts, grants management, disaster relief, and volunteerism. CyberGrants does not currently offer matching gift auto-submission functionality.
SmartSimple — SmartSimple Cloud is designed for businesses looking to partake in end-to-end giving and corporate social responsibility. With employee giving, volunteer management, matching gifts, grant management, in-kind giving, employee assistance funds, and more, SmartSimple aims to encourage and enable corporate leaders to make a difference. SmartSimple does not currently offer matching gift auto-submission functionality.
YourCause — YourCause by Blackbaud is a top social responsibility company that empowers its corporate clients with employee giving, employee volunteering, and global engagement. Its two software solutions, CSRconnect and GrantsConnect, make giving back simple and impactful for companies. YourCause does not currently offer matching gift auto-submission functionality.

As auto-submission continues to grow in prevalence, you’ll want to keep these names in mind, as many of the platforms may begin establishing the functionality soon!

The Future of Matching Gift Auto-Submission

Though the auto-submission of matching gift requests is a cutting-edge technology, we can expect that more and more companies will roll out the offering in the near future.

As a growing number of corporate giving platforms begin partnering with Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro to make auto-submission possible, the employees of these companies will become eligible to participate. Meanwhile, nonprofits and companies are already requesting the feature more and more, continuously leveraging it as a way to help employees more easily submit their match requests and drive the most impact for nonprofits.

And as more donors become eligible for matching gift auto-submission, critical roadblocks are removed, driving more corporate gift matches to completion⁠—which benefits the donors, nonprofits, and corporations involved in the arrangement.

How to Begin Leveraging Auto-Submission with Double the Donation

Matching gift auto-submission sounds great, right? Are you interested in knowing how to get started with this innovative functionality? Here’s what you can do;

If you’re a nonprofit…

For nonprofits, schools, universities, and other fundraising organizations looking to reap the benefits of matching gift auto-submission, it’s quick and easy to get started. All you have to do is employ Double the Donation’s matching gift automation service⁠—360MatchPro.

Once you get your account set up, you’ll be prompted to add Double the Donation’s tools to your online donation process, including embedding an interactive search field that collects employment information within the giving experience and an automatically populating confirmation page widget that provides an overview of eligibility criteria and next steps. And when auto-submission is made available through the selected company, your organization’s donors will be provided with the opportunity to partake directly from your nonprofit website.

Get a personalized demo of 360MatchPro to see our tools in action here.

If you’re a CSR Vendor…

Corporate giving vendors play a huge role in the matching gift auto-submission process. Do you have a CSR management platform that you’d like to get involved with auto-submission functionality? Double the Donation wants to work with you⁠—whether you’re an established provider in the game or a newer facilitator just entering the space.

And best of all? Auto-submission is free, both for you and the companies you work with! Not to mention, you’ll tend to see increased participation rates in the matching programs you facilitate, as well as elevated satisfaction levels among your corporate clients.

Schedule an introductory partnership call with the Double the Donation team here.

Matching gift technology continues to revolutionize the way nonprofits, donors, companies, and employees all relate to one another through corporate philanthropy. Auto-submission capabilities empower us to streamline giving and matching, allowing each party to make the most of their efforts.

Interested in reading more about corporate matching gifts and how to make the most of them for your cause? Check out these other educational resources:

A Complete Guide to Fundraising Automation for Nonprofits. As technology continues to develop, nonprofits are able to automate more and more of their day-to-day efforts. Read up on some common⁠—as well as more advanced⁠—types of fundraising automation and see what your organization can outsource today.
Why Did My Nonprofit Receive a Check From a CSR Vendor? Whether donors submit their match requests manually or use auto-submission functionality, the next step is for the CSR vendor utilized by the employer to cut the matching check. Keep an eye out for incoming matching donations with this guide!
Matching Gift Databases: Our Comprehensive Guide for 2022. Matching gift auto-submission works by integrating innovative corporate giving platforms with the industry’s leading matching gift database⁠—ours. Learn more about matching gift databases, their benefits, and how to best utilize them for your cause here.

Matching Gift Auto-Submission + CSR Platforms | What to Know